Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Galicia.
Hi Vincent, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story has never been about pizza—it has always been about perseverance.
I’ve always believed that if you’re going to chase a dream, you have to be willing to sacrifice for it. For years I built a career through my construction company, while also spending over two decades in music and photography. Creating has always been part of who I am.
That same passion eventually led me to open my own restaurant, Chente’s on the Hill, in the heart of Strawberry Hill. Walking through those doors every morning was a dream come true. It represented years of hard work, sleepless nights, and believing in something bigger than myself.
Getting there wasn’t easy. I sacrificed more than most people knew. I even sold my home to raise the money needed to make that dream a reality. I put everything I had into that restaurant—not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually.
When the restaurant closed, it felt like I had lost a part of myself. I hit the lowest point of my life. I battled depression, questioned everything, and for a while, I honestly didn’t know what my next chapter would look like. It wasn’t just a business that closed—it was a dream I had poured my heart into.
But sometimes God has to tear down what we built so He can build something greater.
Through faith, prayer, and a lot of hard work, I slowly found myself again. I often describe that season of my life as the phoenix rising from the ashes. God didn’t just restore me—He transformed me. He gave me a new perspective, a stronger purpose, and a deeper appreciation for every opportunity that comes my way.
Instead of letting failure define me, I let it teach me.
That journey led to the rebirth of Chente’s Pizza KC. What started with frozen take-and-bake pizzas has grown into brick oven pop-ups, community events, collaborations with other local businesses, and a vision that’s bigger than ever before. Every pizza I make carries a piece of that story. Every event reminds me that second chances are real.
Today, success means more than sales or sold-out nights. It’s about serving my community, creating memories for families, encouraging other entrepreneurs who are struggling, and proving that failure doesn’t have to be the end of your story.
If my journey has taught me anything, it’s this: your greatest setback can become the foundation for your greatest comeback. As long as you keep your faith, keep working, and refuse to quit, God can turn ashes into something beautiful.
I’m still building. I’m still dreaming. And I truly believe the best chapter of my story hasn’t been written yet. That journey led to the rebirth of Chente’s Pizza KC. What started with frozen take-and-bake pizzas grew into brick oven pop-ups, sold-out events, and something I never imagined—a second chance to build my dream, this time with even more purpose.
Today, I’m building my own custom food trailer, and every bolt, every piece of equipment, and every improvement represents another step forward. It’s more than a mobile kitchen; it’s proof that dreams can be rebuilt.
This trailer isn’t just about serving pizza. It’s about bringing people together wherever they are. I want to pull up to neighborhoods, schools, festivals, breweries, and community events and create an experience that people remember. There’s something special about watching a handcrafted brick oven pizza come out of the oven, sharing it with family and friends, and creating memories around great food.
The lessons I learned from owning a restaurant have shaped every decision I’m making now. I understand the value of controlling costs, staying adaptable, and meeting customers where they are. Instead of waiting for people to come to me, I can now bring Chente’s Pizza KC directly to them.
My vision doesn’t stop with the trailer. I want Chente’s Pizza KC to become a name people associate with quality, community, and perseverance. I hope to grow into multiple mobile units, cater large events, partner with local organizations, support youth programs, and continue finding ways to give back to the same community that believed in me when I was starting over.
Looking back, I realize my story was never really about opening a restaurant or building a food trailer. It’s about faith, resilience, and refusing to let failure have the final word.
If someone reads my story and finds the courage to keep chasing their own dream after experiencing heartbreak or failure, then every sacrifice, every setback, and every challenge was worth it.
I’m living proof that with faith, hard work, and perseverance, you can lose everything and still build something even greater. This isn’t the end of my story—it’s the beginning of the legacy I’m working to leave behind.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Loosing my liquor license once we opened we had it then they said paper work was misplaced and we needed to redo the process that killed us at the resturant for two months almost no business people love to eat pizza and drink
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I wear a lot of hats, but at the heart of everything I do, I’m a builder.
Whether it’s custom concrete and epoxy floors through my construction company or handcrafted brick oven pizzas through Chente’s Pizza KC, I’ve always loved creating something from nothing. I enjoy taking an idea and turning it into an experience people remember.
Today, I’m the owner of Chente’s Pizza KC, where I specialize in artisan brick oven pizzas with a unique Latin influence. Our signature pizzas—Carne Asada, Al Pastor, and Carnitas—reflect my Mexican heritage while staying true to traditional artisan pizza-making. Every dough is carefully prepared, every pizza is cooked at high temperatures to create that perfect leopard-charred crust, and every customer gets a product I’m proud to serve.
What people know me for isn’t just the pizza—it’s the passion behind it. I love talking to customers while I cook, explaining the process, introducing people to flavors they’ve never experienced, and creating an atmosphere where food brings strangers together. To me, pizza is more than a meal; it’s an experience.
I’m also proud of the fact that I don’t believe in staying in one lane. Over the years I’ve owned a construction company, a restaurant, worked in photography, released music, and now I’m building a custom food trailer that will allow Chente’s Pizza KC to travel throughout Kansas City and beyond. Every chapter has taught me something valuable, and I bring those lessons into everything I do today.
What sets me apart is my resilience. I’ve experienced success, failure, heartbreak, and new beginnings. I know what it’s like to lose a dream, and I know what it takes to build another one from the ground up. Because of that, I don’t take a single customer, opportunity, or sold-out event for granted.
The accomplishment I’m most proud of isn’t opening a restaurant or building a food trailer—it’s refusing to quit. Anyone can celebrate the victories, but continuing to believe in yourself after life knocks you down takes something different. I hope my story reminds people that failure doesn’t define you. Your willingness to get back up does.
If people remember one thing about me, I hope it’s this: I put my heart into everything I build, I try to leave every person better than I found them, and I never stop believing that with faith, hard work, and perseverance, anything is possible.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
No one builds a dream alone, and I certainly didn’t.
First and foremost, I have to give all the glory to God. There were moments in my life when I truly didn’t know if I would ever recover—after losing my restaurant, battling depression, and feeling like I had lost everything. My faith became the foundation that allowed me to rebuild my life. I honestly believe that every opportunity I’ve been given since then has been God’s way of reminding me that my story wasn’t over.
I also owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my family. They’ve seen every high and every low. They’ve celebrated the wins, stood by me through the losses, and continued believing in me even when I struggled to believe in myself. Their encouragement has meant more than they’ll ever know.
My customers deserve more credit than they probably realize. Every person who ordered a frozen pizza, visited the restaurant, came to a pop-up, shared a social media post, or simply told a friend about Chente’s Pizza KC helped keep this dream alive. There were times when a sold-out event wasn’t just a good business day—it was the reminder I needed to keep going.
I’m also grateful to the local business owners, event organizers, breweries, bars, and community leaders who took a chance on me by inviting Chente’s Pizza KC to their events. Those opportunities helped introduce my food to new people and allowed my business to grow one event at a time.
I’ve learned something from every person I’ve crossed paths with. Some were mentors who shared advice. Others challenged me through difficult experiences that forced me to grow. Looking back, even the people who doubted me played a role in shaping the person and entrepreneur I’ve become.
If there’s one thing I hope people remember about Chente’s Pizza KC, it’s that this business wasn’t built by one person alone. It’s been built through faith, community, loyal customers, family, and countless people who believed in my vision before they ever saw the finished product.
To everyone who has supported me over the years—whether you bought one pizza or a hundred, shared a post, invited me to an event, prayed for me, or simply believed in me when I was rebuilding from rock bottom—thank you. You didn’t just support a business. You helped change a life.
Pricing:
- Pizza pop-up events 10 inch pizzas for $15. And 14 inch pizzas for $25
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chentespizzakc?utm_source=qr
- Facebook: Chente pizza kc
